By David Tepera, February 12, 2020

Well, Valentine’s Day is only two days away, which creates panic for those who procrastinate.

The average consumer is expected to spend $196.31 for Valentine’s Day, which is up 21 percent from last year’s $161.96, according to the National Retail Foundation.

The overall expected amount consumers will spend in the United States is to be around $27.4 billion, which is up 32 percent from last year’s $20.7 billion, according to the foundation.

Even with people spending more money, the number of people celebrating Valentine’s Day is only at 55 percent, but it was up from last year’s 51 percent, according to the foundation. People who spend the most money are from the ages of 35-44 at $358.78, according to the foundation.

With Ageless Muscle being in the health and fitness industry, it’s been a nice surprise to see spouses are purchasing personal training for their significant others. They come to us because of the friendly family atmosphere we’ve created. Our gym is not intimidating for first-timers, women, medical conditions or the older population.

What new creative ways are you looking to express your love? Does your loved one want some type of exercise apparatus, equipment or athletic apparel?

There’s always the running joke if you buy your wife a treadmill, you’re calling her fat, and that might not go so well. But, I argue a different point because it depends on the presentation.

If you’re a romantic, still give the tradition of a personalized card, flowers, chocolate, but this time, include a form of health and exercise. What will make it more special is for you to join them.

Tina and I have rescue dogs, including a foster. One of our special times together is walking the dogs. Nothing says “I love you” more than talking and picking up dog poop.

One of our delights at Ageless Muscle is training husbands and wives. There are a few who train together, and those who train with their own perspective trainer. Our goal is to educate them, so they are comfortable to come in on other days and train together.

Just recently, the wife of one of our male clients thanked us for helping her husband become comfortable in a gym environment. They now spend time together every weekend in the gym, which has helped bond their relationship even stronger. This could be each of you.

So, make this Valentine’s Day a little different with a gift of health and fitness. It could be as easy as a promise note stating you love them and want them to be around much longer, so let’s start a new chapter in our lives to become healthier. All it takes is grabbing them by the hand to head out the door for a walk.

By David Tepera, February 9, 2020

Recently, I was having a conversation with one of our clients, Don Filidei. Seventy-one-year-old Don has been with us for a little over two months, and is excited about his strength gains.

You see, Don came to Ageless Muscle due to a severe shoulder issue, along with a knee replacement. The pain in Don’s shoulder had become so overwhelming, he was in need of immediate help.

So, I asked Don what made him finally make a decision to improve his health condition? Don’s reply was quick as he told me, “I was sick and tired dealing with constant extreme pain.”

Of course, we are excited to help Don as he continues to make progress. Now, his improvements are steady because Don is staying consistent with the Ageless Muscle program.

How about all of you out there? What areas in your life are you sick and tired of? Could it be from lack of exercise, addictions, relationships or occupational? You must recognize depression can be created from any of these choices.

How often do you get upset with yourself for not eating healthy or exercising? Have you already given up on your new year’s resolution? If you have, just get back on the wagon. Try to make one healthy decision each day and it will make you feel better about yourself.

Years ago, a distant friend came to me because he struggled with alcoholism. He was sick and tired of waking up each morning with a severe hangover, which led to an unproductive lifestyle. I introduced him to the gym and made him meet me there several times a week until he developed new healthy habits. It took some time, but he succeeded.

Now, what’s it going to take for each of you to change your life? Do you really need to hit rock bottom? You see it coming, so do something about it today. You keep putting it off, and all you caused was another day dealing with depression.

Today, you’re going to jump out of your comfort zone and take back your life. You alone get to make that decision. You don’t need to ask permission from anyone but your conscience.

Starting today, you’ll no longer will be sick and tired of being sick and tired. You got this!

By David Tepera, January 29, 2020

As you know, the Ageless Muscle team frequents many gyms. It’s quite often we observe people misusing the weight equipment, which can ultimately lead to either hurting themselves or not really getting any true benefit.

I would like to share a few weight lifting tips that we see most common. First, for whatever reason, people think to lose “love handles,” they must perform multiple sets of side bends while holding weight.

Guess what? The only thing you accomplished was building your obliques muscles and NOT burn any fat in that area. So, what this means is you made your waist wider and more-blocky. It’s like the worst possible exercise to build a smaller waist.

Listen, the only way to make your waist smaller is in the kitchen. Yes, you should perform abdominal exercises to help build a strong core, but not side bends.

Another bad no-no is pulling the lat bar behind the neck all the way to your shoulders. Huge no-no because you’re over-rotating your rotator cuff and putting unnecessary stress on the neck. The safest range of motion is to pull the lat bar to the front of the body right below the chin. Just squeeze your traps along the range of motion and you’ll feel the difference.

We see the leg press machine abused way too often. Remember, place your feet up high on the platform, so that your knees will not flex over your toes. If not, you’re putting stress on your patella and achilles tendon which will result in injury.

Look, I understand if you’re not familiar with the gym, the above explanations probably didn’t make any sense to you. But, I have a strong presence of gym readers who’ve been asking for help, and we take pride in educating people all over the country.

I cannot express the importance of weight training, especially as we get older. It’s fantastic if you’re out walking, riding a bike or performing some type of cardio, but it’s a must to incorporate weight resistance.

Weight training is our path to the fountain of youth. I don’t care how old you are, weight training is a game changer. Our oldest clients are in their late 70s, and now have more energy than over the past 15 years.

I know the weight room can be a scary and intimidating, but don’t let that stop you.

We’ve created a friendly family environment at Ageless Muscle. Even though we are professional athletes, our gym is for people like you, who want to just be educated and train safely.

Ask for a tour at your local gym, along with no more than two or three personal training sessions. If you don’t gel with your trainer or gym, search and seek others.

The biggest lesson of all is to understand the no-nos, and keep it safe.

By David Tepera, January 22, 2020

We frequently have people reach out to us because of being stuck with current exercise routines and diets. For some reason, even though they’re being strict and consistent, people’s bodies are no longer making changes.

It’s what is known as “plateau,” and it will happen to everyone who stays on the same routine week after week.

I’m going to try to explain this as best as possible. You see, our body’s job every single day is to survive. If we start overheating, the body will perspire for coolant. When we get too cold, the body will shiver to produce heat. When the body needs food for energy, it creates hunger.

When you lift weights, it produces micro tears within your muscles. At night, during rest, the body will repair itself and build more muscle tissue to take on that same weight. If you continue to use the same weight, the body will no longer build more muscle. It has already survived the weight you placed upon it. Make sense? To build more muscle, you must use more weight, including changing you weight routine.

The key is to keep confusing the body into building muscle tissue. If the body is confused, it has to keep making changes to survive.

This phenomena is the same process for dieting. For those of you who go on these strict or crazy diets, once your body has adjusted, you will no longer lose weight. Remember, after a period of time, the body has already survived. That’s why diets don’t work!

A good friend of mine went on one of those no carb diets and lost plenty of weight in the beginning. She was depressed and frustrated that she was stuck and plateaued. I told her because of the lack of carbs, it’s time to throw down some pizza, burgers and fries. She thought I was crazy, but when she did, her metabolism kicked back in and lost more weight. It was time to confuse her body.

If you deprive your body from certain important food vitamins and nutrients, your metabolism will shut down to survive.

When you start a diet, you must ask yourself, “Can I stay on this diet the rest of my life?”

Whatever is going on in your life, do not accept or be satisfied being “plateaued” because today, you’re going to mix it up.

By David Tepera, January 1, 2020

OK, here we go. It’s not only a new year, but a new decade. When I was much younger, I’d wake up Jan. 1 with a hangover and not get anything accomplished. Now, for countless years, I’m up and ready to begin the year with my new set of goals.

If you’re in need of a list of goals, make your topics — mental, physical, occupational and spiritual. Believe me, none of these topics will be accomplished without getting into the right state of mind, thus mental.

Who do you surround yourself with? Are your friends in destructive behavior? Do you have a support system or negativity? Where does your mind spend its day? Successful people will tell you where they are going, and others will tell you where they’ve been.

Almost everyone wants to get in better shape and lose fat weight. Make your physical goals achievable. Set small goals per month where success will be attained. Don’t ever get discouraged over one bad day. Giving up on your goals because of one setback is like slashing the other three tires for one flat.

If you’re unhappy with your current occupation, what will it take to change? If you want to move up with your company, show your worth by taking on projects, getting there earlier and staying later.

Maybe, it will require night school, trade school or starting your own company because you have a unique set of skills.

When starting a new business, it’s important that your business creates a benefit or improves lives. If so, through time, you’ll succeed beyond expectation. That’s what we did at Ageless Muscle, and business is booming.

I understand many people question spirituality, and there’s multiple religious beliefs. My suggestion is if you’re not happy with current status of life, you have nothing to lose but to seek a higher power. I promise, it will change you.

Now, if you want 2020 to be your year, you can’t sit and wait for it. It’s time to get up and go after it. This will consist of all the little things like smiling more, being friendly, getting rid of all the clutter, delete negative people on social media, and just be fierce and brave.

Now, take a deep breath, get you game face on because today is a new year, new decade and a new you.

By David Tepera, December 25, 2019

Remember, when you were a kid, got a new pair of sneakers, then all of a sudden, you could run like the wind?

I received my first Chuck Taylor Converse basketball shoes in junior high. I could jump so high, that I almost touched the net. True story.

So, where is all this leading in today’s column? There are many of you receiving some type of exercise apparatus, device or apparel as Christmas gifts. Hopefully, you’re just as excited to get started as the kid with new sneakers.

Whatever the exercise gift is, take the next six weeks and give it your best. If you give full effort, I promise there should be some type of body change. This could be from losing fat weight to adding muscle. The key is consistency.

Now, Wednesday does mark Christmas holiday 2019. There’s only one week left and a new decade will follow. Enjoy all the festivities in front of you over the next week, then start gearing up for 2020 to become the new you.

It’s been an interesting holiday season for us. We’ve been attending two or three parties each weekend through the month of December. Even though we don’t over-indulge, we have enjoyed all the holiday foods and festivities. We allow Christmas time as an opportunity for non-guilt because of the special times with family and friends, and you should, too.

To me, it doesn’t matter what your religious beliefs or not, at least take Christmas day as a reminder that we are celebrating a miraculous moment in time. The birth of Christ was a new beginning for us to recognize that a Savior will help us through times of diversity and challenges.

If you haven’t already, there will be a year where the new passing of a special loved-one won’t be attending Christmas celebration. Today will be difficult, but I encourage you to reflect on all the past wonderful memories.

As most of you know, I lost my 23 year-old son Dustin many years ago. I changed my thinking to instead of missing him on holidays, to reflecting of all the crazy fun moments. I choose laughter over sorrow. Believe me, this will help you get through it.

I know I’ve been a little all over the place with today’s article, but I felt compelled to touch a few subjects. My desire was to reach each of you because today will have mixed emotions.

So, get into a positive mindset, love all those around you, and make this a very merry Christmas to all.

By David Tepera, November 6, 2019

One of the hardest lessons in life is failing. To most people, failing can be embarrassing, so we make excuses and quit. The problem is, you’re letting others dictate your life.

Believe me, there’s not one person reading this article who hasn’t failed a diet. Just because you had a bad day or two of unhealthy eating, don’t quit, and proceed back on path. Remember it took a long time to put the weight on, so it will take time to remove it.

How many times have you tried to quit a bad habit, but failure got the best of you? I know people who smoke tobacco, and everyone of them wants to quit. Sometimes, you just can’t stop the entire habit, but at least try reducing the amount of usage. Find an activity that keeps you busy to take the smoking time away.

How about learning sports? I know parents who let their kids quit because they keep striking out, fell on their face during a soccer match, got hit with a ball and so on.

There are more young adults living with their parents than any other time in our short history. Maybe, it’s because of our youth not learning to problem solve.

When’s the last time you encouraged you kids to keep trying, instead of babying them? Yes, we don’t like our children to fail or be discouraged, but if you don’t allow them to get back in the game, they will always be quitters in life.

By statistics, there are more people with gym memberships than who actually use them. The only reason you keep your membership is because you expect to use it every day. Guess what? You failed yesterday, but make today different. Put your gym clothes in your car before leaving for work, and take the new step of getting back in shape today.

We all know daily life has its challenges. As adults, there are plenty situations that we want to throw our hands in the air and give up. I’m telling you to pick yourself up and keep pursuing forward.

Your best day could be tomorrow, so be willing to fail today, as long as you’re giving it your best. Take control of your life and punch failure in the face. Don’t accept anything or anyone to hold you from your destiny. You’re the most amazing person you know, so, remember, it’s OK to fail, but just don’t quit.

By David Tepera, October 30, 2019

Recently, I was working with one of our male clients, Steve.

He has been with us for around six months and has made some significant changes. The 58-year-old Steve was displaying before and after photos from our Ageless Muscle program. He was excited to see the muscle growth, along with fat loss.

I explained to Steve that anyone who truly starts and stays on a healthy lifestyle will never have “after” photos because the journey never ends. Physical enhancements, along with mental awareness will now be part of your daily life. This has become true with most of our clients, especially the older ones.

We understand that people must set goals, which is important, but I want you to think beyond that.

Just because you lost the needed 20 pounds, how are you going to keep it off? More than 80 percent of people who lose weight will go back to an unhealthy lifestyle to put excessive fat weight back on. This is totally depressing but don’t beat yourself up for it.

If you’re on a diet that requires eliminating certain healthy foods, you’ll eventually fail. Eating healthy is a lifestyle, not a crash course, so there’s no after photos because our bodies will continue to develop.

Pick out your favorite sport you played or competed in from your youth. How many times did you shank a volleyball learning to serve overhand? How often did you get hit by a ball learning to catch, fall off a bike learning to ride, miss free throws learning to shoot, and so-on?

Hopefully, you got mad, dug deep into your pride, and kept pursuing until you accomplished each feat. But, it doesn’t stop there because more skills were needed to compete at higher levels.

This reigns true in the workforce. Before we started our family business, I told my children that to be successful, you must find your dream job and work your way up. Start at the entry level and don’t worry about the low pay scale. Prove your dependability and worth, and I promise, promotions will happen. At each level, keep exceeding expectations, and within time, you’ll be the CEO or develop your own successful company.

So, remember, your whole life is an adventure. It’s OK to take photos along the way to display the journey because if you keep pursuing life, there are no after photos.

By David Tepera, October 23, 2019

With the baseball playoffs upon us, it’s an exciting time to be a fan. For those of you who are not familiar with the baseball term “go yard,” it refers to hitting home runs.

Think about it, the ball will travel the entire yard of the field to proceed over the fence.

We all love home runs because they are rare, plus they often make a huge impact in the outcome of a game. We spend most of our time observing strikeouts, walks, base hits and a ton of throw-outs to first base.

To me, baseball has a huge reflection of our lives. How many times have you struck out in relationships, but eventually, you found the perfect partner? How many interviews did you go on before you landed the dream job?

What new diet program have you started this time because you can’t seem to make it to home plate?

During all these life events, you were hitting foul balls, base hits and sometimes scoring runs. It’s part of the ups and downs in competition, but the goal is to win the game of life.

I’m 58 years old, and over the past few years, finally went yard with a successful business, marrying my amazing wife Tina and building a stronger relationship with God.

Now, we all live different lives but have a common denominator for desiring success and happiness. We must recognize that striking out and losing games is part of the learning process. I stopped judging myself for losing and turned failure into experiences and opportunities.

Did you know, Carlos Correa’s 2019 batting average is .279. This means he is only hitting the ball less than three out of 10 times at bat. But, during those hits, he has 21 home runs and 59 RBIs. As we all know, he’s one of the most dynamic players on the Astros.

What about 5-foot, 6-inch Jose Altuve going yard with a walk-off two-run home run to clinch the ALCS against the Yankees? His batting average for this playoff series was .348.

So, what’s the true message today? Don’t let obstacles and set-backs keep you from reaching your dreams. Don’t ever give up on life because of all the failures. You must take these experiences to mold you into a mean-lean-fighting machine because if you keep swinging, you’ll eventually “go yard.”

By David Tepera, October 16, 2019

I must begin today’s column with a sincere apology. I had a misprint in last week’s article regarding the title of my guest. It should had referred to him as the chair for the board of Moody Gardens. Even the Daily News reached out to me to confirm, but before I had caught the mistake, it went to print.

This mistake solely lies upon me — the columnist. I corresponded to my humbled guest who clearly didn’t think much of it. But, I must truly apologize to the Moody organization and family members for an honest mistake. Your value to our society has been astonishing.

Now, this did make me reflect about different types of mistakes we all encounter throughout our lives. There are many people who are known for their mistakes more than their accomplishments.

For example, how about the baseball player who hit multiple home runs and RBIs to get his team to the playoffs but is best known for their strikeout at the bottom of the ninth inning? What about the quarterback who threw countless touchdowns but is only known for the interception in the last game?

Also, we all know people who can never admit their mistakes. For some reason, they only want to blame others for their failures. Just remember, next time you point your finger at someone, look at your hand because there are three other fingers pointing back at you. You get my drift?

Not too long ago, I came home from a long tiring day from work. I was upset with my son Dylan for leaving a dirty cooking pan on the stove. I verbally expressed my disappointment without letting him speak. Dylan respectfully apologized and went to his room.

Once I started looking around the kitchen, I noticed he had put away all the clean dishes, folded the towels from the dryer, and the dirty pan was from meals he cooked for the entire family.

I called Dylan back to the kitchen where we sat down, with tears in my eyes, I apologized for being not only short-minded, but not giving him the credit and respect a fine young man deserved.

You see, even as parents we must admit our mistakes to our children. I promise, this will make them better parents, too.

So, as you head out the door today, how will you treat your family, coworkers, coaches or teammates? But, more importantly, how will you treat people in our society.

Just remember, once you can own up to your mistakes, you’ll be able to keep moving forward.